


Wild Youth

by octopies



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, I added a lot of headcanons about family backgrounds, I just love writing stories about friendship and the antics that ensue, In chapter 2 Snufkin does something to his hair but I won’t spoil, Moominmamma and Moominpappa care about Snufkin, Sleepovers, Snufkin has a small breakdown near the end of ch2, The group of five friends get into a lot of trouble, Theres a slight bit of Snufmin in here but its not at all important to the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopies/pseuds/octopies
Summary: When Moominmamma and Moominpappa head off after the Moomin father decided to go on an adventure to try and relive his old youthful days, Moomintroll and Little My throw a sleepover and invite their friends Snufkin, Snorkmaiden, and Sniff.The five didn’t expect to get into trouble and expected things to just be calm, but what else can be expected of them when they’re put together alone for a whole day and night without any older supervision?





	1. Chapter 1

The bright morning sun of another warm summer day shone through Moomintroll’s window, awakening the troll from his lovely night’s rest, interrupting him from the lovely dream he was having. Today would just be another day if it weren’t for the exciting plans he already had.

Unable to contain his excitement, the troll hopped out of his bed and left his room, feet padding through the house and it took him to the room that was slept in by the little Mymble his family had adopted into their life. Slowly, he opened the door and it creaked slightly, yet the little red-headed creature did not budge. He tip-toed over, looking down at her sleeping frame on the bottom bunk, covered with a blanket up to her chin.

Would he gently shake her awake? Would he be soft and quiet like she would appreciate?

Making up his mind, with a mischievous grin the troll stood by the bedside and shouted, “Wake up, Little My!” That definitely caught the Mymble’s attention and she startled awake, sitting up with wide eyes.

Her expression tightened into a rather frustrated and grumpy one as soon as green eyes landed on the soft and plump form of the young Moomin. “Come on, Moomin! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?”

With a grumble, My laid back down and turned over, her back facing the troll. She pulled the covers back up to her neck and shut her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the Moomin that still lingered behind her.

“Aw, don’t be such a grump, My! Don’t you remember? We have plans today!”

“Yeah? Well our plans can wait until I get some more sleep!”

Moomintroll huffed and wagged a playful finger at her, though she couldn’t see. “Now, don’t make me drag you out of bed, Little My!” He placed a paw on her shoulder and Little My moved her arm to try and shake the touch off, but the troll didn’t budge.

Giving up, with a groan the Mymble sat up again. She gave a look towards the troll and rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue in a fond manner. “I swear, sometimes you are so stubborn.”

“Oh, don’t say that, My,” Moomintroll grinned, looking down at the girl as she got out of the bed. “I think someone around here has to be when it comes to you.” 

The two headed downstairs together, finding Moominmamma and Moominpappa in the kitchen. Moominpappa had a large traveling bag and was storing away few things inside, while the other was fixing some food.

The day before, Moominmamma had announced that Pappa wanted to go on an adventure, trying to relive the exciting spark that life had to offer him during the journeys that got recorded in his memoirs. Obviously, he didn’t have his old friends to go with, but he was perfectly content with traveling with his wife and letting her experience the wonders of being somewhere unfamiliar. While they were gone, Moomintroll had asked them if him and Little My could invite over their three close friends Snufkin, Snorkmaiden, and Sniff for a slumber party. Neither of the Moomin parents had an issue with it, and that left them with the preparations of the next day.

“What’s that, Mamma?” Moomintroll wandered up to his mother, looking at the food. “Is that for you and Pappa?”

“This is for you and your friends, dear,” Moominmamma smiled at him. “I thought maybe you five would like some sandwiches for a picnic.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely, Mamma! I’m sure everyone would enjoy it!”

Little My hopped up on the counter, peering into the bag that Moominpappa was packing. “Gee, that sure is a lot of stuff. How long are you going to be gone?”

“You never know what you might need,” Moominpappa huffed. “It’s just going to be us, and whatever nature brings—“

“Only a day or two, dear,” Moominmamma interrupted with a fond, amusing look towards her husband. “We won’t be gone that long.”

Moominpappa looked back at her and turned back to his packing. “You never know. Venturing out far can be exciting, we can’t trust our own hind paws with where they mind lead us.”

Moominmamma chuckled softly and only repeated, “We won’t be gone for long.”

Little My hopped into the bag before Pappa could protest against it, feet propped up on jars. “Won’t you take me with you, Pappa? This sleepover is going to be a total snooze fest!”

“Little My!” Moomin placed his paws on his hips and peered over at the devilish Mymble. “That’s not true, and you know it! You were excited for it yesterday!”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe I was,” Little My grinned. “But you know what’s more exciting? Going out somewhere far from Moominvalley where there could be danger, and monsters!” She wiggled her fingers for emphasis, arching her back to look intimidating.

“Stop it, My!” Moomin whined, thinking about the possibilities of his parents running into trouble. “Mamma and Pappa will be just fine!”

Pappa laughed and scooped the little Mymble into his arms, taking her out of the bag. “Little My is only messing with you, dear,” he spoke to his son. “Even if we did run into any monsters, I’m enough to fend them off away from Mamma and I.”

“Pappa, that’s not helping…” Moomintroll murmured, fidgeting with his tail in his paws anxiously.

Moominmamma rested a paw on top of the little Moomin’s head and ruffled his fur, the little ears twitching underneath her touch. “Don’t worry, Moomin,” she hummed to him softly. “Pappa and I won’t come across anything that could harm us. There are no monsters in Moominvalley, or anywhere outside of the valley. Isn’t that right, dear?”

Moominpappa cleared his throat, setting Little My down on the table. “Why, yes, yes, of course, dear.”

As Moominmamma finished up with preparing her son’s picnic basket for his friends, Moominpappa finished packing their bag. “I suppose Pappa would want to leave now,” the Moomin mother hummed as she closed the basket full of food, looking over to her husband.

“Yes,” Moominpappa spoke confirmation as he set the bag on his back, tightening the straps. “We must leave so we can find a comfortable place to settle before night comes around.”

“Be careful, alright dear?” Moominmamma leant down to give her son a parting Moomin kiss as she nuzzled her snout against his. She then did the same for Little My, much to the Mymble’s protest.

“I’ll be fine, Mamma! I’ll have my friends with me,” Moomintroll grinned up at her. “Have fun with Pappa, okay?”

“That’s my boy,” Moominpappa grinned at his son, ruffling his head then ruffling Little My’s, her hair becoming a little messy. “Maybe one day when you’re older, you’ll be traveling with Snufkin like I did with his father.”

“Oh, I can only wish, Pappa,” Moomin responded a little dreamily as the father turned away from the two, heading out the door with his wife. “Bye! Be careful, please!”

Moomintroll and Little My sat at the window, watching the two Moomins disappear off into the distance as they travelled. Once they were out of sight, Little My hopped down from the couch, heading back into the kitchen. The young Moomin followed closely behind her.

Moomintroll entered the kitchen to see Little My hopping up on top of the table, looking into the basket. “I’m hungry!” she spoke with a toothy grin. “How’s about we eat real quick, Moomin?”

Moomin was quick to grab the basket out of her reach. “This is for all five of us, My! You can wait for the others, can’t you?” 

Little My grumbled, crossing her arms. “I guess. But hurry up, won’t ya? I feel like I’m about to starve!”

Moomintroll giggled, “You’re fine, Little My. We’ll go now. Let’s go find Sniff, yeah?”

The two headed out of the house, Moomintroll happily swinging the basket in his hand, though not enough to mess up the contents inside. They hadn’t told their friends this plan beforehand, so neither of the three knew the two were coming. They figured Sniff would be the easiest to get to join their sleepover, with Snufkin being the hardest. Though, they also knew the Mumrik would do just about anything as long as his best friend was involved.

They arrived at Sniff’s little house in the grass. Moomin was about to knock on the door when Little My shouted. “Sniff! Wake up, lazy bones!”

There was silence behind the door until they heard a distant padding of footsteps as the doorknob turned and the door opened slightly. A little brown head with very large ears poked out.

“Moomintroll? Little My?” a squeaky voice spoke, looking at the two curiously. He opened the door fully. “What are you two doing here?”

“Mamma and Pappa are going out on an adventure!” Moomintroll began, looking up at his friend with a grin.

Sniff yawned. “If you’re going to ask me to come along, no thanks. I think I’m going to catch up on my sleeping.”

“No, silly!” Little My shook her head. “You didn’t let him finish! We’re having a sleepover at our house! Snorkmaiden and Snufkin are going to be there, too!”

Moomintroll nodded along to what Little My was saying. “Well, we don’t know if they’re coming, yet,” he chuckled sheepishly. “We haven’t asked them…I’m sure they’ll come, though!”

Sniff stood in the doorway, thinking, before finally nodding his head. His ears flopped slightly when he nodded. “Okay,” he began, eyes falling on the picnic basket that Moomintroll held. “Is there food in there?”

“Yup,” Moomintroll giggled. “It’s for a picnic! But you’ll have to wait until we get Snorkmaiden and Snufkin.”

Sniff came out of the house and shut his door behind him and he began following his two friends through the forest as they walked to their next destination, which was the house shared by the Snork siblings.

“I wonder where your parents are going, Moomintroll,” Sniff wondered aloud, trying to imagine where they possibly could be going during this time of the season. “What’s the occasion?”

“Mamma just said that Pappa really wanted to go on an adventure to somewhere unknown, like the old times,” the troll answered, looking back at his slightly taller friend with a smile. “So now, me and My have the house to ourselves!”

The three arrived at their destination, looking up at the lovely house. Moomin knocked on the door, listening closely as he heard soft approaching footsteps.

“Moomintroll!” a high voice greeted him and the door opened fully to reveal Snorkmaiden. Her brown eyes wandered behind the white troll, meeting the eyes of Little My and Sniff who were behind him. “Oh, and Little My and Sniff! What brings you all here? Would you like to come in?”

Moomin shook his head at the offer. “I was going to ask you if you’d like to come over for a sleepover! Mamma and Pappa left the house to me and Little My. Won’t you come? It’ll be so fun!”

Snorkmaiden tapped her snout in thought before nodding her head. “I’d love to! Are we leaving now?”

“Well, Mamma packed all of us a picnic! You’ll join us for that, won’t you?”

“Of course!”

Moomintroll hummed happily and tilted his head to the side a little, trying to catch a glance behind Snorkmaiden. “What about your brother? Would he like to come with us?”

“Oh, Snork is sleeping!” Snorkmaiden smiled. “Fell asleep at his work desk again…I suspect when he wakes up, he’ll immediately be back to work. Let me leave him a note that I’m leaving and I’ll catch up with you guys, alright?”

Before the group could answer, the door shut and they heard disappearing footsteps behind it. It wasn’t too long before Snorkmaiden came back, joining her friends outside. “Okay, I’m ready!”

With a soft smile on his face, Moomintroll led the group away from the house, an excited skip in his step.

“Moomintroll, where’s Snufkin?” Snorkmaiden asked her friend. 

“We have to go get him,” Sniff answered for him. “Moomin, do you think he’ll join us?”

“I’m sure he will, Sniff,” Moomintroll smiled as he answered his friend. “We might have to convince him, though.”

“We don’t even know where he is,” Little My piped up, shrugging her shoulders. “He could have wandered off for his own adventure, like Pappa has!”

“Surely not, Little My!” Moomintroll shook his head. “It’s much too early for that now. I’m sure he hasn’t wandered off far from his tent.”

“Maybe he’s having a fight with a park keeper, right now!” Little My clenched her paws, swinging them in the air for emphasis. She just barely missed one of her paws coming in contact with Sniff’s leg. 

“He could just be sleeping,” Sniff voiced. 

“Hmm,” Moomin thought aloud as the group of four drew closer and closer to the blue Moomin house. Once the building was within their sights, they turned off towards the bridge, down to where they knew Snufkin’s tent was set up. When they arrived, the camp set up was empty, leaving nothing but a tent.

“Snufkin?” Moomintroll called, knocking on the fabric of his tent. It made a soft, high noise as fur ran across the fabric. Not wanting to wait, Little My decided to just go ahead and unzip the tent, revealing nothing inside, not even his bag.

“He might be fishing,” Moomintroll thought, turning his gaze away from the tent to look around and observe their surroundings.

“Let’s follow the stream!” Snorkmaiden spoke up, an idea popping in her head as she looked at the flowing water just beside them. “If he’s fishing, surely we’ll find him eventually!”

The group of four followed the stream into the forest, observing the nature with hopeful eyes that they’d come across their friend eventually. Their wishes were answered when they saw the tip and rim of a large green hat just ahead of them. They sped up and were met with the Mumrik with his side facing them. Snufkin was knelt down on his knees by the stream, his fishing pole propped up beside him. He was hunched over for some reason, the rim of his large hat covering his face entirely.

“Snufkin!” Moomintroll’s excited voice announced his arrival and his Mumrik friend turned to look over at him, eyes dilated. In his mouth hung a rather fairly sized fish, not too big yet not too small, as the creature carried it with his Mumrik fangs sinking into the fish for a grip. Water was dripping from his mouth and the fish was slightly moving, indicating he must have just caught it. It was a little strange to see him using strategies like this when the Mumrik usually just stuck to plain fishing poles.

Snufkin spit the fish out into his paws, not even embarrassed from being caught in the act of his Mumrik ways. It was like it never happened at all. “Moomintroll!” he greeted his friend with a smile, eyes roaming the group behind him. There must be something going on. “I’m glad to see you all. Is something the matter?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong, Snufkin!” Moomintroll grinned. “Mamma and Pappa are out on an adventure and they left me and My to ourselves. We decided to have a sleepover, would you like to come?”

“Hmm, well…” Snufkin looked up at the sky from his spot knelt on the ground, one paw grasped around the tail of the fish that had stopped moving while another paw tapped a finger with an unsheathed claw against his chin in thought.

Moomintroll looked at him with a hopeful expression, eyes lighting up, wishing silently that his best friend would join them.

“Why not?” the Mumrik spoke finally, earning excited glances to be shared by the group. “I don’t have anything planned…What’s the basket for?”

“Mamma packed us all a picnic!” Little My was the one to speak up, looking up at her brother. “Now that we have everyone, can we find somewhere to settle down and eat? I can’t wait any longer!”

“Always so impatient, Little My,” Snufkin smiled warmly as he began to stand up, the fish he had caught hanging loosely from one of his paws.

“Only because I had to wait until we gathered you bunch,” Little My tapped a foot against the ground. “I’ve been hungry all morning!”

“Hmm. I can go now, but along the way let’s stop by my tent, alright? I need to put my bag up,” Snufkin requested as he moved to stand closer to the group, looking at Moomin.

“Of course, Snufkin,” Moomintroll smiled. “Your breath smells like fish!”

The comment made Snufkin laugh as he picked up his bag and set it on his back, following along with the group as they followed the stream back to his tent. The Mumrik silently thanked them for stopping by here as they approached and he walked up to the tent, finding it already unzipped. He didn’t ask questions, assuming one of the four behind him must have opened it to see if he was inside, and he only set his bag inside.

“What are you going to do with that fish, Snufkin?” Moomin asked him curiously, looking at the limp creature in the Mumrik’s paws.

“Well, I was going to eat it, but…That was before I had plans. Hm. Not really much use, now is it? I can’t just throw it back in.”

“You could still cook it up, if you’d like!” Moomin offered to him. “Maybe we could start a fire somewhere!” 

“I suppose you’re right,” Snufkin responded to him and looked back to his tent. “Guess there was no point in dropping this off.” Hastily, he put his bag back on his back, and the group of five set off.

They arrived in a large field with a very large tree in the middle of the clearing. Sniff was quick to race ahead of the group, skidding a half underneath the tree. “What about this place? We can sit underneath the shade!”

Snorkmaiden hummed as the rest caught up with their friend. She already began to take a seat in the soft grass, observing their surroundings. “This place is very pretty, I think it’s perfect.”

“I don’t care where we sit, as long as we eat!” Little My piped up, paws digging in the picnic basket as soon as the troll had set it down. She took out a sandwich and began to bite into it, looking over at her brother as he sat a little bit away from the group, setting up a fire from materials he kept in his bag. Out of his bag he took a pan. “Are you going to come eat, Snufkin? I might eat your share if you don’t!”

“I will soon enough, Little My,” Snufkin assured his Mymble sister, giving her one quick glance before returning to his work.

“Just eat the thing raw, Snufkin,” Little My snorted, earning a rather scrunched up face of disgust at the thought from Moomin, Snorkmaiden, and Sniff. Snufkin only laughed softly. “You’re going through too much trouble for a fish. Isn’t that what Mumriks do anyways?”

“Maybe,” Snufkin hummed in response, watching as his fire was lit and the flame steadily grew in size. “But I don’t. I like things cooked. Plus, I thought maybe I’d share alongside the food we already have.”

“That thing’s been in your mouth! That’s gonna be a no thank you from me!” Little My grinned, turning away from him and back to the picnic basket as she took out another sandwich. 

“I was only catching it, My,” Snufkin smiled at her, enjoying the sibling banter.

“You had a fishing pole with you.”

“Sometimes it’s easier a certain way than another.”

“Hmph. Whatever,” Little My fondly rolled her eyes, taking a bite of the next sandwich. “Like I said, hurry up and join us or I just might eat your food.”

Snufkin said nothing more and he began to cook the fish over the fire. From underneath the tree, Moomintroll watched his best friend. He was snapped from his thoughts when he was addressed by Sniff.

“Do you have any ideas of what we’re going to do tonight, Moomintroll?” Sniff asked him, his mouth full of food. The troll shook his head in response.

“No, not yet. I’m sure it’ll be fun, though, whatever we think of!”

“Well we still have a while until night to think about it,” Snorkmaiden offered before taking a bite of her own food.

“Snorkmaiden’s right!” Moomintroll smiled. “And that also means we have some time to do things together outside of the house before night time, yeah?”

“Maybe we could go on our own adventure far, far away, like Mamma and Pappa!” Little My grinned up at them. 

Before Sniff could protest against that idea, Moomintroll shook his head. “If we go anywhere, it won’t be too far, My. Besides, I’m sure Mamma and Pappa aren’t traveling out that far! They said they’d be back in a day or two.”

“If they even come back at all,” Little My smirked devilishly, a vague ominous tone in her voice. Moomintroll’s tail twitched anxiously in response and he frowned. 

“Don’t scare him, Little My,” Snufkin spoke as he joined the group, cooked fish lying on the pan. He set the pan down and settled next to his best friend, patting his back. “They’ll be back soon, alright Moomintroll? You don’t have to worry, you can trust them.”

“Ugh. You make me sick,” Little My joked, rolling her eyes with a smile. Snufkin knew his sister’s antics was only all harmless play and he laughed in response, reaching into the basket and taking out a sandwich. He leaned against the tree, one arm propped underneath his head as he took his first bite, hat tipped slightly to cover his eyes.

“Thanks, Snufkin,” Moomintroll said to him and stuck his tongue out at Little My. “Do you know any places we could go on an adventure that’s not too far from home?”

Snufkin made a thoughtful noise as he finished the last bite of his sandwich. “Hm. I know a lot of places, my friend, but it depends on what you consider far.”

Little My huffed, “An adventure to Snufkin is going somewhere entirely empty or messing with some private land owner.”

“Not always, Little My. I do quite enjoy our adventures around Moominvalley,” he looked at the little Mymble with a small grin from underneath his hat. “We could always climb the mountain, Moomin.”

“We’ve done that many times before,” Moomintroll shook his head. “I don’t want one of us to end up hurt. Let’s go somewhere where we won’t risk one of us falling.”

“Mm. I’ll think more, then,” Snufkin sat up from where he was leaning back against the tree. “Would anyone like some fish?” 

Every voice piped up in response so Snufkin chuckled as he began cutting away at the meat, separating pieces for all of them “Did Mamma pack any plates?”

Moomintroll dug through the basket, hand coming in contact with little glass plates, and he took them out and handed them over. Snufkin nodded a silent thanks and began preparing plates for everyone. Once he handed them out, they all began trying the fish.

Little My was the only one who visibly expressed disgust, putting down her plate. “It’s too fishy!”

“Well, it’s fish, Little My,” Snufkin chuckled. “What did you expect?”

Little My shrugged, standing to her feet and walking to the basket. “I dunno. I need another sandwich, though.”

“I know where we can go!” the voice of Snorkmaiden came as she finished chewing. “Let’s find a flower field and we can all pick flowers!”

“Sounds boring,” Little My complained. “Why don’t we go see what flowers grow on the top of the mountain?”

“I just said I don’t want any of us to fall, Little My,” Moomintroll shook his head. “We can’t have any accidents while Mamma and Pappa are gone!”

“Where ever we go, I don’t want to go too far away,” Sniff said, finishing his plate. 

“I think Snorkmaiden’s idea sounds lovely,” Snufkin spoke up with a short, playful glance towards Little My before looking at the rest of the group. “We could pick flowers and bring them back to the Moomin House to surprise Mamma and Pappa.”

“We could make a game out of it!” Sniff grins, thinking aloud. “Whoever collects the most flowers wins!”

Snorkmaiden nodded along to Sniff’s idea, her expression brightening. “That sounds like fun!”

“I’m surprised you’d want to do anything you can’t make money off of in some way, Sniff,” Little My jokes and placed her paws on her hips, earning a laugh from the others. Sniff only grinned and flicked her with his tail. 

“I can appreciate the little things, too!”

“So I guess that’s settled, then,” Snufkin took out a sandwich without looking into the basket, eating one last thing before they eventually set off. “Do we still have more food left over?”

Moomintroll hummed as he checked in the basket. “There’s a little left, but not much. We can eat it on the way to the field if we get hungry!” 

As the group of five finished up, they gathered up their plates, setting them back in the basket. Little My tried to ride in the basket, not wanting to walk, but Snufkin kept his sister away from her goals by grasping her tiny paw in his own larger one, keeping a hold on the little Mymble.

“I know a good place to pick flowers,” Snorkmaiden grinned as she stepped to the front of the group, leading the way. “Just follow me!”

It wasn’t a very long walk before they ended up in a large field with small rolling hills, covered in flowers of many different colors, leaving seemingly no empty spaces. The group, besides Snorkmaiden, gasped in awe of the sight and they quickly set off.

Moomintroll giggled to himself as he ran through the field holding the basket, the feeling of flowers brushing against his legs and tickling him. “I have an advantage because I have the basket! I can store them in here as long as I make sure not to touch the sandwiches.” In some places, the flowers grew up high, and it’d be easy to get lost from the group if they weren’t careful. Moomintroll began picking flowers, picking up ones of several different colors when all of a sudden he heard his name being called by a distant voice. His ears perked towards the sound, trying to identify it.

“Moomintroll!” the voice came again, and it was a slightly deep one. He recognized it as the Mumrik he was all too fond of. “Moomintroll, where are you?” 

“Over here, Snufkin!” Moomintroll stuffed the flowers he gathered into his basket before raising his paw up, trying to catch the attention of the Mumrik. “Snufkin!” He heard rustling coming towards him, letting him know that his friend had found his location. They bumped into each other and Moomin nearly toppled over but the Mumrik was quick to steady him.

“What is it, Snufkin? Did you find anything?” Moomin asked with a tilt of his head.

“Look at this,” Snufkin spoke excitedly, opening up his paws to reveal a little sky blue flower. “It reminds me of you!” 

Moomin giggled with a small blush. “Oh, Snufkin, don’t be silly! You should be looking for flowers for Mamma and Pappa. Don’t you want to win?”

“Hmm, maybe so,” Snufkin grinned and reached up a paw to put the blue flower behind the troll’s ear. “But when I saw this, I just couldn’t help myself.”

Moomintroll laughed and began gently pushing him off in the direction he came from. “Go, Snufkin! We gotta collect flowers!”

“You don’t look like you have any yourself, Moomintroll,” Snufkin grinned, looking back at him as he was pushed.

“Oh, you’ll see,” Moomintroll giggled. “Now go!” The Mumrik ran off with a laugh and Moomin continued to pick flowers, putting them in the basket. He silently wondered to himself how the others were doing.

“Hey, Moomin! How many do you have!” a little voice sounded as the Mymble ran up to him, carrying flowers that were almost taller than her. She peered behind her collection to look at the troll, empty handed save for the basket. “Psh. You don’t have any! You’re going to lose. Later, Moomin!”

With that the Mymble darted back into flowers, running off in an opposite direction of which she came. Moomintroll laughed to himself, feeling successful that he was able to trick them into thinking he didn’t have any. He decided to go find Snorkmaiden, knowing she would surely have the most. She had all the best ones. He stood up on the tips of his toes and saw a white and blonde fringe just barely poking out above a patch of tall flowers and he quickly headed in that direction.

“Snorkmaiden!” he announced his arrival when he caught up to the Snork. Just as Moomin had guessed, she had a large batch of flowers of all different kinds. “Wow, Mamma and Pappa will love these!”

Snorkmaiden sighed sweetly, “I would hope so! Do you think I’m winning, Moomin?”

“Surely, but just wait until I catch up to you!” 

“But you don’t have anything, Moomin!” the Snork laughed as the white troll began to race away with his basket.

“You’ll see!” he called back, and began to go back to his picking and storing the flowers away in the basket.

The group continued to pick flowers until each member had announced they believed they picked enough and they met up just outside the field, each member carrying a good bit of flowers, except for Moomin. The other four looked at him curiously.

“You still didn’t get any, Moomin?” Little My tilted her head with a genuine question, looking at the troll. The troll’s eyes were shut with a small smile as he crossed his arms behind him, holding the basket in both paws. 

“It’s not that hard to find them,” Sniff said, just as confused as the others. “No challenge at all. We were in a field…”

Their confusion grew as Moomintroll suddenly began laughing and they all tilted their heads at them, expressions of wonder urging him to continue. “I got you all!” he said between laughter. “I tricked you! I have flowers, they’re just hidden somewhere.”

Snufkin had a small smile and he tapped a boot against the soft grass, getting the idea. “Ah, the basket,” he spoke, eyes glancing to the basket that the Moomin held behind himself. “You hid them in there?”

“Yup!” Moomintroll set it down in front of him and opened it up on one side, taking out the flowers. “See? Look at how many I got!”

The five compared the sizes of their batches, only to learn they collected just about the same amount. Although there was no individual winner here, they all decided they’d all won, just as long as Moominmamma and Moominpappa would be happy with their catches. They then sat down for a short break, looking out at the field as they sat just on the outer edge of it.

Snorkmaiden began to put flowers in her hair, inspired by the tiny little flower that still sat atop Moomin’s head. Seeing her, with a smile, the young Moomin helped her until they had put enough flowers in her hair. He then turned to Snufkin, who only smiled with a hum as the troll put flowers of all different colors around his hat. 

The Mumrik beckoned his Mymble sister over and patted the grass in front of him and Little My took a seat with a curious glance. Her wonder was soon answered when Snufkin took a little flower and stuck it through the tie that held up her hair, avoiding the swipes of little black paws when she got an idea of what he was doing. Despite the original impression she gave off when she protested, she left the little flower in her hair.

With a curious glance, Moomintroll studied Sniff, trying to figure out how he could decorate their friend. He grabbed a flower and stuck the stem slightly down one of his large ears. In return, the ear twitched and Sniff sneezed, his body not appreciating the action. The Moomin only laughed and took it out, instead putting two flowers behind his ears and tying a little one around his tail. Afterwards, the five just sat together peacefully, talking to each other about their plans for the rest of the day.

“We have to go back soon so we can get the flowers in vases so they won’t die,” Moomin said to all of his friends eventually. “Do you think we can store them all in the basket?”

“What about the food?” Little My piped up. With a thoughtful noise, the troll peeped in the basket.

“There’s only a few sandwiches left. Is anybody hungry?”

Snufkin was the only one to deny the offer and gave his share to Sniff, and the others ate the remainders of the food so they could store the flowers away. Once they were finished they put the flowers inside gently, and closed the basket. Taking it up in his round white paw, Moomintroll got to his feet and the group of five headed off in the direction of the house. They were just off the edges of Moominvalley, though they knew they were not too far from home.

The group headed through a forest on their way back to the house, making their way back to get into Moominvalley. It didn’t go unnoticed by anyone when Snufkin suddenly began to lag behind the group, slowly with each step, until he came to a complete stop.

“Snufkin?” Moomintroll asked him, looking at the Mumrik curiously who was staring off in a different direction. He soon got the idea when he saw gates off in the distance of privately owned land. The Mumrik’s paws were clenched by his side. As much as the Moomin wanted to tell his best friend to come along and try his best to ignore it, he knew that wouldn’t be possible.

“Oh, boy,” Little My rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t expect anything less of her brother. By the way she responded, Moomintroll assumed she had the idea of what exactly was making the Mumrik so irritated right now. The white troll read his body language, watching the Mumrik’s tail twitch irritably, fur bristling slightly.

Snufkin looked back at Moomintroll, an almost pleading look in his brown eyes. “Just one more stop? You four can go along, if you’d like. It won’t take me long to catch up.”

“Snufkin…I know what you’re thinking,” Moomintroll sighed. “Is there any way you could let it go?”

“Impossible.”

“Well, I’m not leaving you here by yourself. We can help you!”

“Help?” Sniff winced, looking between the two best friends. “We could get arrested for trespassing!”

“Not if they can’t catch us, we won’t,” Snufkin responded with a mischievous grin and a wink towards the brown creature. “Come on, guys, it’ll be quick! You might even have fun.”

The Mumrik’s mischievousness was beginning to spread through his sister and the little Mymble was quick to run to his side, following alongside him as he snuck through the brush, trying to keep himself hidden to any being that could own this land. The other three followed along, albeit a little hesitantly.

They were all prepared to get into whatever trouble could come their way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don’t exactly go as planned at the park so the group has to turn away with their goal unfulfilled, frightened. They find other things to do to pass the time, though the thoughts about the event that happened lingered in Snufkin’s mind when he doesn’t even realize it until the Moomin parents return.

The forest was quiet, save for the soft sound of rustling as a group of 5 friends made their way through the brush, the group being lead by the cat-like creature in the green outfit. He was followed closely by his devilish Mymble sister. The rest of the group lacked behind a little but continued to follow—not because they wanted in, but because they didn’t want to be left behind.

“I don’t know about this, Moomin,” the Snork of the group whispered to the white troll beside her, blinking worried brown eyes. They all knew their Mumrik friend well enough to know exactly what he had planned, but three members of the group were fretful on whether his mischief would truly be successful. “What if we’re caught?”

The taller friend, the brown creature more timid than the rest, overheard the whispering and piped in. “I don’t want to get caught,” he whispered to the two, his voice almost a whine. “Would we get in trouble?”

“I don’t know, Sniff,” Moomintroll answered honestly, his voice hushed as his face furrowed with worry. He looked as Sniff, watching as his large ears flopped down and laid flat against the side of his head, his long tail twitching anxiously. “I think the most we can do right now is just trust Snufkin…”

Up ahead, the Mumrik was careful to sneak through bush to bush, followed by the little Mymble. Snufkin stopped in one bush close to the gate, peering up ahead but being cautious to not be seen.

“See anything?” came the voice of Little My, hushed but still a bit too loud to exactly be considered a whisper.

“Mm. Not yet, little Mymble.”

“I’d say whoever owns this place isn’t around right now,” Little My observed with a frown. “That means we can just take down any restrictions and run, yeah?”

“We can’t just be that careless!” Snufkin scoffed, narrowed brown eyes studying the area ahead, his tail flicking. “You never know who could be around, or where…We can’t let ourselves be seen.”

“Okay. But there’s obviously nobody—“

Snufkin interrupted his older half-sister by shushing her, trying to focus. After a bit of silence, he finally spoke, “Only if we’re absolutely sure nobody’s around, we can do that. But we’re not sure.”

Little My huffed, disappearing into the bush they hid in and sitting down. “Well? How do we be sure?”

Snufkin’s head vanished into the brush as well as he knelt down on his knees, looking down at his sister with a grin full of mischief. “We look for them.”

Little My arched an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t want to be seen?”

“We won’t be caught if we’re extra careful. Just be careful about your surroundings, alright?”

The other three in the group sat behind the bush, listening in on the hushed conversation. They were startled when Snufkin suddenly poked his head out of the bush in their direction.

“Ah, my apologies! I didn’t mean to scare you,” the Mumrik spoke to Moomin, Snorkmaiden, and Sniff as soon as they settled down from their scare. “You must have caught all of our discussion, yes? Are you going to join us?”

“Snufkin, I—“ Moomintroll struggled with his words, trying to figure out how to say it. “I don’t know about this…I guess I’m just worried.”

Snufkin came out of the bush to settle down next to his friend. He took the white paws into his own, holding them reassuringly. “It’s okay, Moomintroll,” he smiled at him. “I understand. It’ll be alright, okay? You might even have fun, too!”

Snorkmaiden twirled the hair on the top of her head with a finger in an antsy manner. “I’ve never done something like this before,” she frowned. “Something about it feels…wrong…”

“It’s freeing, my friend!” Snufkin tried, though he understood the Snork’s doubt. “I’ve never felt a more wonderful feeling. Knowing you’re doing something good…for us, and every creature around.”

“But what if we get caught?” Sniff expressed the same worry he had previously, fidgeting with his tail anxiously. “We would get in so much trouble!”

Moomintroll nodded along to what Sniff was saying. “If anything happened, oh…Mamma and Pappa would be so worried.”

“You three can stay here if you want to,” the Mumrik offered gently. “I can come get you when My and I are done.”

“No, it’s fine, Snufkin—we’ll come along,” Moomintroll responded.

“That’s the spirit!” Snufkin smiled at them and he disappeared back into the bush behind him, careful not to trip over the tiny Mymble that also hid within. “We’re about to move locations, alright? I suggest you get ready to move.”

The three prepared themselves to follow their friend and quickly got to their feet and followed along when Snufkin left the bush, quietly creeping along the gate before disappearing into another bush. The other four caught up, gathering behind it and out of sights of anyone that could be past the gates, though they couldn’t stop being too careful right now.

“Hmm,” Snufkin’s voice sounded from the bush as he thought aloud. “I can’t seem to find anyone past the gate. I think it’s safe to move inside?”

“Already on it,” Little My grinned and ran out of the bush, squeezing past the bars of the gate and into the enclosed area. Snufkin just stared at her, not exactly sure what he was expecting.

“Be careful, Little My!” Snufkin urged, quick to gather himself on his feet. “Wait for the rest of us!” The Mumrik immediately began climbing the fence, joining his Mymble sister on the other side. From there, he looked to his three friends expectantly.

Not wanting to carry it around, Moomintroll set the basket inside the bush and got up on his feet, helping up Snorkmaiden. He helped the Snork climb the fence first, then he was next, leaving Sniff behind the gates looking around hesitantly.

“Sniff?” Moomintroll tilted his head, looking at the brown creature on the other side. “Is something wrong?”

“I just have a bad feeling about this, Moomintroll,” he sighed.

“You’ll be safe with us, Sniff. We’re all over here,” the Moomin tried, silently hoping Snufkin wouldn’t be frustrated with their friend’s timid nature. He hoped that the Mumrik would understand. Moomin wanted to tell Sniff that if anything were to happen, it’d be hard to catch all five of them, but instead the words lingered in his mouth, unspoken.

The brown creature only nodded in response as he began climbing over and Moomin helped him down on the other side. Afterwards, they all turned to Snufkin, expecting the young Mumrik to lead them along.

“Alright,” Snufkin clasped his paws together. “When you see a sign about restricted access, take it down. Knock over anything that prevents this area from being free.” Before the group could respond, or express any worries, Snufkin hurried off on his own. Little My turned on her heel and followed after him, leaving the other three alone, fretful.

“Should we follow him?” Snorkmaiden questioned, and Moomintroll shook his head.

“No, but we can stick together.”

The three carefully explored the enclosed area, taking down any signs they found along the way. The place was nicely kept up, and appeared to be a small park. Moomintroll tried to imagine why such a pretty place would be private property, though. Shouldn’t something like this be accessible to everyone?

He supposed he could say he began to understand why exactly Snufkin did this.

At the sound of sudden footsteps trudging along in the forest, snapping twigs, Moomin looked to Snufkin off in the distance and they made eye contact. The split groups hurried to hide in the closest newly-trimmed hedge. The white troll wondered quietly if his group should cross the distance to be with Snufkin and My, but the risk was too huge and he decided not to chance it. Someone was coming.

On the other side of the closed off park, Snufkin hid with Little My. The two peered out of the hedge, watching closely and waiting silently for the source of the foot steps to appear.

“How do we scare this guy off, Snufkin?” Little My whispered to her brother.

“I don’t know,” he confessed, voice hushed as well. “When I saw there was nobody around, I…didn’t really think ahead.” Little My huffed in response, not saying anything else when the creature finally came into view.

“A Hemulen!” Little My narrowed her eyes as she studied the creature. “Is that the same park keeper?”

“No, this is a different one…” Snufkin mused. “But a Hemulen nonetheless.”

Everyone knew, if a Hemulen was committed to it, they tended to be strict and controlling creatures. It’s no surprise when they’re usually seen as officers, park keepers, and whatnot. It wasn’t a problem that Snufkin couldn’t deal with, though.

He just had no idea how to go about it. 

As the Hemulen made his way inside the park, he seemed to not take notice to anything that could possibly be seen as out of place. When his back was turned, Snufkin grabbed Little My’s paw and quietly snuck out of the bush, then hastily made his way towards where Moomin’s group hid without being seen by the owner of the land.

“Snufkin!” Moomintroll gasped in a hushed voice when the Mumrik crawled inside the hedge with his sister. “You didn’t get seen, did you?”

“No, Moomintroll, don’t worry,” Snufkin whispered in response. 

“Do you have a plan?” Sniff asked the Mumrik, tail thumping anxiously.

“I…No, I don’t,” Snufkin frowned, trying to think. “I don’t know if we can truly make this place free without showing ourselves.”

Snorkmaiden gasped softly, “We can’t do that! What if he comes looking for us? Oh, surely there must be another way, Snufkin.”

“Mm. I’ll think,” Snufkin shook his head and sighed, leaning against a branch in the hedge. 

“Do we have to do this? I mean, we could always come back—or you alone—when you have an actual…plan,” Sniff mused fretfully. “I don’t think we should do this. We can just leave, and nothing bad will happen. There’s a lot of other fun things we could—“

“Of course we have to do this!” Snufkin snapped suddenly, not meaning to raise his voice. It was still a little hushed, but it was loud enough to be heard. His pupils dilated and he covered his mouth, tail lashing irritably. Realizing what he had done, he groaned with frustration.

Moomintroll’s eyes were wide, not expecting Snufkin to have snapped like that. He knew Sniff tended to ramble when he was nervous, though he didn’t know it’d irritate him. Sniff stayed silent after that, only going back to fidgeting with his tail in his paws, his ears drooping low.

“Huh? Who’s there?” the Hemulen’s voice sounded off in the distance and they could hear foot steps approaching them, trying to search for the source of the voice. The way the Hemulen spoke was firm and strict. Any anxiety any of the group members had increased in that moment, trying to figure out what to do quick before they were caught.

“You didn’t have to snap at him, Snufkin!” Snorkmaiden whispered to the Mumrik, brows furrowed. Snufkin tried to shush the Snork but to no avail. “You know just as much as we do that he gets nervous. We could have been back at Moominhouse by now and—“

Snorkmaiden’s voice cut off with a muffled squeak when Snufkin clasped a paw over her mouth, attempting to quiet her. Everyone was quiet and all that came out was hard breaths, nervous at the sound of the footsteps getting closer, stopping just outside the hedge. There were grumbles and the hedge was rustling above them as the Hemulen moved aside the brush to see what was hidden underneath in the shrubbery.

Shock was evident across the Hemulen’s face when he made eye contact with, not a small pest of a creature or two like he had probably been expecting, but rather a group of kids. That surprised expression quickly contorted into anger. “Hey! What are you doing here? You’re trespassing!” 

“Run!” Snufkin shouted and the group quickly stumbled to their feet out of the bush, running in different directions. It was a smart idea to split up, since it was five against only one Hemulen. Moomintroll darted off into a direction, not exactly sure where to go or what to do. When they ran, they had dropped the signs they had collected. He decided not to worry about it, for the group needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. He stopped when he saw Snufkin stood inside a watermelon patch, the green of his outfit almost blending in with the outer skin of the large fruit.

“Snufkin!” Moomintroll hurried over to him. “What are you doing? We have to go!” 

“Help me take one of these, won’t you, Moomin?” Snufkin asked, looking into the worried blue eyes of his best friend.

“But—“ Moomintroll tried to protest, but he knew it wouldn’t get past his Mumrik friend. The cat-like creature was way too daring. With a sigh, the white troll helped him pluck the watermelon off the stem and they began to roll it towards the entrance to the park. Up ahead, the other three had already made it out of the private land, and it wasn’t long before the other two had caught up to them. They continued to run in the direction they had originally been in before they snuck in. Moomintroll broke off from the group to grab the basket he had left in the bush just outside the gate and he quickly caught back up to them. All five of them ran and ran until they felt like their legs were about to give out underneath their weight.

They came to a stop in the forest, every creature panting and trying to catch their breath, settling down in a clearing. When Snufkin was able to breathe properly, he huffed a laugh. “See? Wasn’t that fun?”

His comment was obviously not appreciated by the original three who had been hesitant to begin with. Moomintroll decided to speak up, tears of fright stinging his eyes. “We almost got caught, Snufkin! What would of happened if we hadn’t of escaped? We could have been locked away and nobody would have been able to get us out! Mamma and Pappa are gone, and they’d come back, and not know where we are! If Mamma and Pappa knew, they would be so worried! We’re away from home, and…and…” The troll’s voice broke up into a choked hiccup, not realizing he had been shouting. He sniffled, his vision blurry from the water that filled his eyes, daring to slip out. He didn’t try to stop it when a few tears ran down his cheek, wetting his fur.

Snufkin didn’t know what to say, not expecting the troll to break down like this. A pang of guilt ran through his body and he looked down at the ground, feeling awful for trying to get his friends to join him. He was mad at himself for not having the self control to just ignore the restricted area, or at least until he could come back by himself and deal with it alone, which in concept probably would have been the best idea.

“I…” Snufkin struggled on his words, trying to find a way to comfort the troll. He was interrupted by another hiccup and a sniffle, a soft whimpering coming from the high and child-like voice of the Moomin. Instead, he patted the grass right next to him, urging the white one forward. “Come here, Moomin, please.”

Moomintroll hesitated for a moment, a little upset with Snufkin, but he did as asked and settled beside Snufkin. He was surprised when the Mumrik guided his head to lay in his lap but he gave into the comforting embrace, letting the cat-like creature pet his head and run his paws through the white fur, trying to comfort him. Even Snorkmaiden and Sniff began to comfort the troll as well, rubbing his back. For once, Little My didn’t have anything snarky to say and she sat in silence, feeling a little bad for the Moomin.

“I’m sorry, Moomin,” Snufkin finally spoke once his best friend had settled down, his breathing coming out softly as he lay with his head resting on the Mumrik’s legs. Snorkmaiden, Sniff, and Little My huddled close to the two, every friend pressed close together as they sat in a comfortable shared space, sharing comforting warmth. Normally, Snufkin would back away from the group and request he have his own space, but he wasn’t in that mindset right now, no matter how close his other friends were huddled next to him. He knew that he had caused fear to strike through at least three of them, so it was the most he could do to be there for them.

“Moomin,” Snufkin began silently, his voice soft. The only indication he received that the troll was listening was an acknowledging flick of a round white ear. “Do you miss Mamma and Pappa?” 

Moomin answered with a small nod of his head, which Snufkin felt against his legs. The Mumrik hummed softly, understanding why the troll must have broken down earlier. He must be homesick and miss his parents, and the stress and fear of what they had done must have been too much for him. “Moominmamma and Moominpappa will be home soon enough, my dear friend. For now, you have us. We can help distract your mind.”

“We’ll be here for you, Moomin!” the soft, high voice of Snorkmaiden came as she smiled down at her friend who gave her a quick glance with one blue eye. 

Sniff nodded along, looking down at the troll, who was like a brother to him ever since the Moomin family started caring for him when they first met when the brown creature was separated from his parents, lost. “That’s what being friends is for!”

Little My had no teasing comments as she wrapped her arms around the round white snout in front of her, pressing her cheek against it into a hug. “We can have a lot of fun back at the house. We don’t need some silly park to find an adventure!” 

Moomintroll sighed softly from his position laying across the Mumrik, feeling comfortable. “Thanks, guys,” he murmured appreciatively, happy to have his friends around. “I love you guys.”

Everyone smiled and they stayed huddled against each other, sharing the comfortable, loving moment. It wasn’t long before Snufkin cleared his throat, having other things to say. 

“Sniff,” he began, earning a curious look from the brown creature. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I know you. I should have known you would be frightened.”

“It’s okay, Snufkin,” Sniff only smiled, touching his tail to the Mumrik’s back. “I know you, too. I know the things you like to do, and I guess I should have trusted you to know what you’re doing.”

Snufkin smiled warmly, “Don’t blame yourself, my friend.” Sniff only returned the smile and said nothing more.

“Snorkmaiden, I’m sorry for scaring you, as well.” Snufkin spoke, but the Snork waved it off with a gesture from her paw.

“Don’t worry about it, Snufkin!” she smiled at him. “Even if it was scary, I think one day we can look back on it and laugh about it! We certainly have a story to tell. And, in the end, we’re all okay right now!”

Snufkin hummed at Snorkmaiden’s words, nodding. “I suppose we should head back now, yeah? Before Moomintroll falls asleep in my lap.”

“I’m comfortable,” Moomintroll murmured sleepily in response to hearing himself be mentioned, his eyes closed as he breathed in and out in a soft rhythm.

“As much as I’d love to sit here with everyone and let you sleep, my dear friend, I think it’s about time we head back,” Snufkin laughed softly. “You wanted to put those flowers in vases, remember?”

Moomintroll snapped awake to his full senses at the mention of the flowers, sitting up. “The flowers!” he gasped, gathering himself up to sit on his knees as he looked at the basket next to him. “Oh, I hope they’re not dead! Quickly, we must hurry home!”

Moomintroll grabbed the basket and the group set off in the direction of the Moominhouse. Snufkin rolled the stolen watermelon along and Little My giggled as she perched on top of the rolling fruit, taking a step with each roll to stay on top of it. The whole group helped carry the large fruit into the house upon arrival. Moomintroll hurried ahead of the group, making his way towards the kitchen with the basket in hand.

“I don’t know which ones were picked by who…” the Moomin spoke aloud to himself as he opened the basket, peering inside at all the jumble of flowers inside. “Mamma and Pappa won’t know which ones came from who.”

“Don’t worry about that, Moomintroll,” came Snufkin’s voice as he rolled the watermelon into the kitchen. “Let’s just split them up into individual vases.” He set the watermelon aside and began to help his friend find vases and fill them with water, then put the flowers in them. They ended up filling about five vases with flowers.

“Mamma and Pappa will love these, Moomintroll,” Snufkin hummed as they finished, hoping his words would ease the troll’s lingering sadness as he missed his parents. The Mumrik ruffled the top of his head with a paw and the Moomin giggled.

Snorkmaiden entered the kitchen and gasped at the sight, running up to the counter. “Oh, these are beautiful!” she exclaimed in awe. “It makes me wish I could take one home! I suppose I could always go back one day and pick my own, right?”

Moomintroll nodded and piped up, “If you go, come get me too! I want to go back one day too.”

A head poked itself through the entrance to the kitchen and the three turned to see Sniff. “Do you think we can cut the watermelon right now?”

“That sounds like a good idea!” Moomintroll spoke, looking at the large fruit that Snufkin had rolled in. “I could really go for some fruit.”

“Why not?” Snufkin began to attempt to pick up the watermelon and Moomin hurried to help him. The two lifted it onto the counter and Moomintroll got a knife to cut it. The Mumrik took the knife and began to cut into the fruit, making large triangular slices and laying them down on a plate that Moomintroll grabbed for him. Once he was done, he wiped his forehead with a brown paw that was sticky with fruit juice.

Moomintroll grabbed a slice and began to eat, the red fruit creating slight pink stains on his white fur. Little My joined the others in the kitchen and hopped up on the counter to eat with them. Once they had finished all they could eat, they left the rest of the watermelon on the table for later.

Little My stood up on the counter, stretching. “What time do you think it is?” 

Snufkin’s eyes landed on a clock in the room. “It’s not too long before dinner time.”

“Hm. Still have the rest of the day and I’m already beat,” Little My climbed down to the floor and walked back into the living room and the others decided to follow her, carrying flower vases to hide in the living room. They hid them behind the couch.

“I think all of us could use a break,” Snufkin mused as he leaned against the wall in the living room while others sat around. “Moomintroll? Do you think Mamma and Pappa will arrive tomorrow, or will they be another day or two?”

“I don’t know,” the troll in question spoke honestly when he was addressed. “I would hope they’d come back tomorrow, but you never know with Pappa!” 

Little My grinned. “That old Moomin is probably getting lost with Mamma right now as we speak!”

“Oh don’t say that, Little My,” Moomin said, but couldn’t help the giggle that escaped regardless of his words. “You know Pappa is a great adventurer! He won’t get lost, he’s been traveling so many times! I would love to hear more of his stories when he writes them.”

Little My shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, Moomin…He’s not as young as he used to be.”

Moomintroll laughed again before sighing, his mind lost in a daydream. “One day, I want to go on adventures just like Pappa did.”

“Maybe I could go with you, Moomintroll,” Snufkin joked, causing the white troll to look at him. “Just like my father did with yours.”

“Mine too,” Sniff piped up and his tail wagged. “Though, I don’t know about going on an adventure. Maybe we could go back down to the flower field! Or an adventure…to pick shells on the beach?” This earned laughter from the brown creature’s friends and he laughed along with them.

“Sniff, did you ever meet your parents?” Snorkmaiden asked him suddenly, looking at her friend curiously.

“Only once…But it was a lot later on. They lost me when I was younger. Moomintroll and his mother found me,” the creature answered with a smile directed towards the Moomin, who returned it. “I’ve just been living around here until I got my small place, though I still see Moominhouse as home, really.”

“Moominhouse is home to everyone,” Snufkin hummed with a small smile. “I’ve never felt more welcome before in a place than here.”

“What about you, Snufkin?” Sniff asked after the Mumrik had spoken up. Snufkin lifted his gaze to look at the brown creature with a questioning tilt of his head. “Have you ever met your parents?”

“…It depends on how you define that,” Snufkin answered with a thoughtful noise. “I suppose I knew them when I was younger, yes. Though not personally. I left and went off on my own when I was very young, and it’s been that way ever since. I’ve never met them again.”

Moomintroll gazed adoringly at the Mumrik as he spoke while Snorkmaiden tilted her head with a question. “Do you ever miss them? Or wish things were different?”

“Hard to say…” Snufkin tapped a finger against his chin in thought. “I think I’m fine with how things are now.”

Little My huffed. “You bunch should have seen Snufkin when he was a kit. We could barely handle him!”

Snufkin blushed at his sister’s words. “Oh stop, Little My…”

“He was so needy! He wanted constant attention and when he didn’t get it, he would cry. Our oldest sister had to constantly care for him! I remember when he was tinier than even me, I could hold him, and he only ever wanted attention from me and our sister and Snufkin would bug us constantly. But—“

Her words cut off with a shrill shriek when Snufkin got on his knees and wrestled his older, yet tiny, sister to the ground with a playful grin. “Enough.”

Little My looked up at her brother and laughed, noticing his cheeks dusted with pink. “You’re embarrassed!” 

Snufkin sat back on his haunches and huffed. “And what if I am? Not everybody needs to know the stories about me as a kit.” Despite his words, he didn’t really truly care, and there was a playful glint in his eye. They just made him feel a little embarrassed.

Moomintroll watched as Little My pulled Snufkin into a playful fight, but he wasn’t paying much attention. He wondered to himself what it would have been like if he had siblings. Sniff was the closest thing to a sibling that he had, considering how they brought him into the Moomin family. Then, he began to think about a baby Snufkin, wondering what he would have looked like, and every other way about how he acted that wasn’t mentioned by the Mymble. His thought process last landed on how Snufkin basically grew up alone, and it made Moomintroll feel a little sad, yet grateful that he had his Mamma and Pappa. 

The play fight between the brother and sister broke up when Little My let out another shriek. “Hmph. You messed up my hair!” She reached up and black paws touched the top of her head, inspecting through feeling, feeling how her hair was falling out of her hair tie.

“Mm. I’m sorry, little Mymble,” Snufkin laughed. “Moomintroll, do you have a brush?”

“Huh?” Moomintroll was snapped from his thoughts. “Oh! Yes! One moment!” With that, he ran off to his parents’ room. He found a brush that his parents used to brush their fur and brought it down, handing it to the Mumrik. 

“I am not using that thing,” Little My eyed the brush, punctuating her words with a hiss. “It’s got Moomin fur all in it!” 

“So picky…” Snufkin sighed fondly and got up from his knees, walking into the kitchen. They heard the sink water run for a moment and then turn off as the Mumrik reappeared, the brush wet in between the bristles and rid of as much of the white fur as possible. His voice was soft and warm when he spoke. “There! Isn’t that better?”

“Still has hair…” Little My grumbled but didn’t protest any further as the Mumrik knelt back down behind her, pulling her hair out of the hair tie. The red hair fell around her face and her brother began gently brushing through the locks, humming. The water on the brush from the sink wet the hair slightly, but not too much to really matter.

“You two must care for each other a lot,” Snorkmaiden observed, watching the two siblings. “Snork used to brush my hair all the time when we were younger…”

“How is Snork?” Snufkin asked her curiously, not lifting his gaze from Little My’s hair as he brushed through it, untangling any knots that was in the hair.

“Working hard as usual!” Snorkmaiden answered with a smile as she thought about her big brother. “I always tell him he needs to take a break and maybe we could go do something together, but he always wants to work. He says when he invents something grand, only then will he rest.”

“Hmm, that Snork…Maybe we need to convince him to get out of the house some day,” Snufkin mused.

“You could try,” giggled Snorkmaiden. “I don’t know how much it would help, though.”

“Not if I can help it! I always have my ways!” Little My grinned devilishly, her words devolving into a hiss of slight pain as Snufkin brushed through an especially stubborn knot. “Ow! Snufkin!”

“I’m sorry, Little My,” Snufkin laughed as he continued. “When was the last time you let your hair down and actually brushed through it?” All he earned in response was an incomprehensible grumble.

“What was that? I can’t hear you when you pout, little Mymble.”

“I said at least I brush mine to begin with!” Little My spoke louder, mischievously reaching up a little black paw to remove Snufkin’s hat decorated with flowers, revealing a mop of brown hair underneath, messy and sticking up in every direction.

“Now, my hair is fine like it is. I’m constantly wearing a hat. It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“It looks awful, Snufkin,” the Mymble teased her younger brother. “If you didn’t have it pushed to the side like that, you wouldn’t be able to see!”

“Oh, Snufkin, you should let us do something to your hair!” Moomintroll’s eyes sparkled with ideas as his voice piped up with excitement.

Snufkin hummed as he placed Little My’s hair tie in his mouth while he ran his paws through the red hair, gathering it up so he could pull it into a ponytail in her usual style. When he spoke, his voice was slightly muffled as he held the object between his fangs. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Moomintroll. Like I said, I’m always wearing a hat.” 

“Doesn’t it get hot during the summer, though? You have a lot of hair.” 

“I wear a hat.” 

“Yeah, but—“

Snufkin laughed at his best friend’s stubbornness as he tied My’s hair. “I know if I don’t say yes, you’re going to start pleading to me, my dear, silly Moomintroll.” Moomin blushed and giggled along, knowing his friend was right.

“I think my hair looks fine. However…” Snufkin smiled as he looked at each of his friends, wonder in their eyes. “I’ll let you do something to it. I suppose it’s only fair payback for what I put you all through at the park, yes?”

“Wow! Really, Snufkin?” Moomintroll hopped from his seat on the couch, joy filling his eyes. “Hurray! I’ll go get some things!” With that, he hurried up the stairs.

With a grin, Little My ran off into the kitchen and began pulling a chair from the kitchen into the living room, pushing Snufkin to sit in it. The Mumrik did as instructed and the little Mymble hopped up, standing on his legs as she observed the hair. 

“Hmm,” she mused aloud, grabbing one end of his hair and playfully yanking on it slightly, earning a fond glare from her brother. “I wonder what Moomin is going to do with this mess.” She hopped down, running to the bottom of the stairs and shouting up it. “Hurry up, Moomin! Come back down before Snufkin changes his mind and goes off to hide!”

“I’m coming!” sounded Moomin’s distant voice, followed by approaching foot steps as Moomin hurried down the stairs, a pair of scissors and a bucket of water in his paws. He set the stuff down beside Snufkin and studied his hair with a paw to his chin. 

“Your hair is so thick, Snufkin,” Moomintroll observed, his comment filled with amazement as he touched the hair with his paws, feeling the shaggy mop that laid on top of the Mumrik’s head.

“I know that,” Snufkin laughed at his friend’s silly comments. “I suppose you were right. Even with my hat, it does get rather hot during the summer weather.”

“Any ideas?” Moomintroll asked Sniff and Snorkmaiden, and the two stepped closer to help their friend out.

“How about we just cut it a little shorter?” Snorkmaiden offered. “Then, it won’t be too hot and—“

“No, I have an idea!” Sniff interrupted and Snorkmaiden looked at him curiously. “Let’s cut all of it off!”

Little My snickered at the idea and hopped up and down, overjoyed by Sniff’s idea. “Yeah! Cut it all off, Moomin!” 

Moomintroll looked to Snufkin for any protests or any signs of discomfort, not wanting to do something against his friend’s wishes. Snufkin didn’t look at him and all Moomin received as an answer to continue was a comfortable expression with closed eyes and a soft exhale full of fondness and love for his friends.

“I think I like that idea,” Snorkmaiden giggled, a paw covering her mouth. “I would hate to be you, though, Snufkin. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“He’s fine,” Moomintroll answered for him with a smile when the Mumrik stayed silent. “Well, let’s start, shall we?” The Moomin began by dipping the brush in the bucket of water he had brought down and running the brush through the thick brown hair, trying to wet it the best he could. As Snufkin’s hair became wet the more Moomin put water in it, it stuck flat to his head, the hair on his forehead covering his eyes. When the hair on the sides of his head and back of his head was brushed down flat, it reached below his jaw, almost touching his shoulders. 

Moomintroll couldn’t help but giggle and the others did as well. “You look silly, Snufkin! A little cute, too.”

A small blush could be seen beneath the hair and he parted the hair on his forehead so he could see, looking up at the white troll with a bashful smile. “I wouldn’t say that now, Moomin.”

“It’s true!” Moomintroll giggled as he brushed the hair back down to cover the brown eyes. “I think we’re ready to actually get started. Sniff?”

Sniff snorted as he picked up the scissors from the ground and handed them off to the white troll, his whiskers twitching with excitement. “Remember, Moomintroll. We’re cutting it all off!”

Moomintroll only nodded and he began cutting through the brown hair, a consistent snipping sounding throughout the house caused by clumsy, inexperienced paws. He cut through the hair on his forehead first and eventually, Snufkin could see again, watching as brown locks fell right in front of his vision, landing on his lap. He sneezed when some strands of hair stuck to his face, around his cheeks and nose. Moomintroll then went on to the sides, back, and the top of his head.

“Be careful not to snip me, Moomintroll,” Snufkin hummed with a smile, watching as his hair continued to fall all around him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t!”

Moomin cut the hair down as close to his head as possible. When he was finished the hair was so short it almost appeared buzzed, albeit a rather clumsy and messy job. “All done!” 

Nobody could contain their laughter when they got a good look at the Mumrik and Moomin led him towards the mirror in the living room. Once Snufkin saw his reflection, he snorted in a silly manner, joining his friends’ laughter.

“Thanks, Moomintroll,” he snorted again, looking to his dear friend. “It looks wonderful.”

“Any time you need another cut, just come to me, Snufkin!” Moomintroll joked, snipping the scissors in the air once.

“I have hair all over me, now.” Snufkin hummed, looking down at his body. He began taking off his scarf, revealing his neck, and he moved to take off his coat but stopped, looking at his friends with a question in his eyes. “Do you mind if…”

His friends shook their heads, understanding what he was asking and the Mumrik only nodded as he removed his itchy clothing, leaving him in his underclothes. All he was wearing was a sleeveless top and some regular shorts. Without his long sleeved top, everyone could see where the skin on his arms and legs faded into fur. There was also tufts of fur on his elbows.

“Mamma will wash these when she returns,” Moomintroll smiled as he took the clothes away from Snufkin, setting them aside. 

Snorkmaiden grabbed Snufkin’s paws into her own and looked up at him. “I think your new hair looks cute!” she spoke happily. “Don’t you agree, Moomin?” Her words caused both the Mumrik and the Moomin to blush. 

“Don’t get them started with the sap,” Little My grinned, looking at Snorkmaiden. 

“Would you look at the time,” Snufkin quickly changed the subject with a whistle, earning an eye roll from Little My, as he gazed out the window. “The sun is setting! The day has gone by so fast.”

“Where are we going to sleep at?” Sniff wondered aloud, looking to Moomin questioningly.

“Who said anything about sleeping?” Little My answered instead, her arms crossed with a grin. “We could stay up all night until the sun rises! We could tell each other spooky stories, and then we’ll be too scared to sleep.”

“I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” Sniff frowned, tail twitching anxiously.

“Don’t be such a scaredy-cat, Sniff!” Little My grinned and hopped to her feet, disappearing into the kitchen. She came back with a flashlight, shaking it a few times before switching it on and shining it upwards to her face. “I think it sounds like fun!”

“And what scary stories do you have, Little My?” Snufkin asked, eyebrow arched.

“What about the story of…” Little My paused for emphasis before waggling her fingers. “The Groke!” The name only earned a flinch out of Sniff, but otherwise there was no further reaction.

“We’ve seen the Groke before, My! She’s not as scary as she seems, right?” Moomintroll spoke with a smile on his snout. 

“And we’ve heard the story just about a billion times,” added Sniff.

Little My lowered the flashlight and flicked it off with a huff. “You bunch are no fun!”

The house was becoming darker and darker as the sun continued to set. The friends sat around, trying to figure out what to do, not wanting to sleep just yet. 

Idly, Snufkin scratched the back of his neck where hair still lingered, caught in the fur that traveled down his neck. Little My looked at her brother and suddenly had a toothy grin that spread from ear to ear, an idea on her mind. She flicked the flashlight back on and pointed the light at the ground, right in front of Snufkin. The Mumrik flinched and all movement stopped as his pupils dilated and he stared at the light ahead of him, tail flicking. 

Moomintroll noticed the strange behavior in his friend and an accusing gaze immediately went to Little My, knowing she was behind what ever was going on. “Little My! What are you doing to him?”

Little My only grinned, shushing for him to be quiet as she returned to what she was doing. Nothing snapped Snufkin out of the little trance he seemed to be in, as if there was nothing else but him and this light. The little Mymble burst out into laughter when the brown Mumrik paws slammed down on the hardwood floor in attempts to ‘catch’ the light, the creature’s expression furrowing with frustration when My moved the light over. In that moment, everyone understood what was going on.

Moomintroll couldn’t suppress the giggles as he moved away when Little My shined the light on top of him, not wanting to get pounced on. “Don’t tease him!” he snorted. “How did you even find out about this?”

“I’ll tell you in a bit,” Little My shined the light on Moomin’s tail, and before the troll could move away, the Mumrik caught the white tail in his paws, claws unsheathing to latch around it. With a grin, she flicked off the light. “That’s how.”

Moomintroll glanced at her, confused, peering down at his best friend who was batting around his tail. 

“Is…he okay?” Sniff asked, giving the Mumrik a worried glance. The Mymble waved him off and nodded with a laugh.

“Sure is! Just give him a bit.”

Sure enough, the Mumrik snapped to his senses and blinked his eyes, his pupils returning to normal. Quickly, he pushed himself away from Moomin, scrambling to his paws with a very flustered face and he sat up, leaning back on his haunches. “Little My!” he was surprised by himself when his voice came out as a whine, sounding like a pouty child. This only made the Mymble laugh harder.

After she collected herself, Little My spoke in between laughter. “This is how I found out!” she giggled, wiping her eyes. “When he was a kit, he’d constantly chase after mine and our older sister’s tails! It was a pain having to pry him off of any object that moved even just a little bit.”

Snufkin huffed, his blush growing and he grabbed his hat and placed it on his head, tilting it to where his face was unseen, hiding the red of his cheeks and the small smile that was forming as his friends laughed along to Little My’s retelling of his short childhood in the family.

“You can play with my tail whenever you want, Snufkin,” Moomintroll teased him with a giggle, making the Mumrik’s blush deepen with embarrassment underneath his hat.

“Alright, I think we’ve teased him enough,” Snorkmaiden spoke after she had calmed down. “I’m sure we all have embarrassing stories.”

“Save them,” Snufkin spoke with a grin as he lifted his hat, the blush on his cheeks still lingering. “You don’t have to say anything in return to hearing mine.” Immediately after he finished his last sentence, his voice broke off into a yawn. He was starting to get rather tired from the events of today.

The yawn started a chain reaction when everyone else began to realize how worn out they were after having ignored the drowsiness to have fun. The idea of staying up all night began to slip out of everyone’s minds, the thought of catching some sleep becoming more pleasing.

“Are you tired, Snufkin?” Moomintroll asked his Mumrik best friend, rubbing his sleepy eyes with a white paw.

“Mm.” Snufkin murmured with a gentle nod of his head. “I suppose I am.”

With another yawn, Moomintroll stood up, addressing the group. “How about we sleep down here? I can grab whatever blankets and pillows I find and make a nest on the floor in the living room.”

“As long as it’s comfortable, Moomin,” Snorkmaiden hummed sleepily, and that seemed to be the general agreement between everyone else. With a nod, Moomin headed off to grab things he needed. Once done, he almost fell down the stairs trying to carry everything. Sniff was quick to stand on his feet and help the troll carry the things down. 

“Thanks, Sniff,” Moomin said with a smile as the brown creature helped him spread out a large blanket across the floor. They laid five pillows in a row and laid another large blanket at the bottom so that they could pull over all of them when they were ready to sleep. The group settled down on the bottom blanket. Moomintroll laid in the middle next to Snufkin, with Sniff on the other side of Moomin and Snorkmaiden next to Sniff. Little My laid on the other side of Snufkin. The group huddled close together, finding warmth as every member slowly and quietly, yet comfortably, drifted off to sleep.

 

The sound of a door opening softly sounded throughout the house during the early hours of the next morning, the sun having not risen above the horizon yet, but it was slightly peeking over. Entering the house was the two Moomin parents, exhausted from their trip.

The first thing they saw was the group huddled together on the floor. Moominmamma worried they may be uncomfortable, but they looked too peaceful and she didn’t want to bother them.

“Look at them, dear,” Moominmamma whispered with a hushed voice, smiling fondly. “How cute.”

“Indeed it is, but, mm. There’s only three of them there. Where’s…” Moominpappa began, but was cut off by a quiet sound of clinking in the kitchen. The Moomin parents moved into the room, being met with a slim figure with their back turned to them.

Their questions were answered as the figure turned around, revealing Snufkin, holding his older sister with one arm, cradled into it like a baby. His other paw was free, swirling a spoon gently around a little teacup. His ears twitched and his tail flicked in greeting. 

“Oh, dear,” Moominmamma gasped, quietly padding over to the Mumrik. “What ever has happened to your hair?” She ran a paw through the buzzed hair.

“Long story,” he only offered with a slight shrug of his shoulders and a grin. 

“It suites you, my boy,” Moominpappa commented, moving to stand next to his wife as he looked at the Mumrik. “Though, I will say the messy hair fits you too. Makes you look like your father.”

“Is Little My alright?” Moominmamma asked, looking down at the little Mymble, fast asleep curled up into one of Snufkin’s arms.

“Oh, yes, Mamma!” Snufkin answered with a soft smile, looking down at his sister. “I fell asleep next to her and woke up with her curled up on my chest. I didn’t want to disturb her by setting her down, so…” He shrugged his shoulders again. 

Moominmamma hummed softly, finding the situation sweet. “What’re you awake so early for?”

“Couldn’t sleep anymore,” he confessed. “Decided to make some tea. How was your adventure?”

“I think Pappa would like to save that answer for when everyone is awake,” she smiled as the Moomin father moved in to ruffle the short hair on Snufkin’s head. Snufkin purred into the touch when he did so.

“Who cut your hair, son?” Moominpappa asked curiously, the paw lingering on the Mumrik’s head.

“Why, Moomintroll, of course! But it was Sniff’s idea to cut it all off.”

“Those boys,” Moominmamma shook her head with a laugh. “Was there a reason why?”

Snufkin thought back to everything that happened at the park. Although the others didn’t want to cut his hair as payback for what had happened at the park, the Mumrik went through with it anyways and self-assigned it as payback for what he put them through. He frowned, not sure what to say. Instead, he just shook his head.

“Hmm,” Moominmamma cupped Snufkin’s cheek as the Mumrik looked up at her behind eyes that suddenly appeared guilty. “What’s wrong, my dear? You look like you have something on your mind.”

Snufkin sighed and quietly he excused himself, moving to the living room with his older sister still asleep in his arm. Gently, he laid her down in Moomin’s hold, the little Mymble cuddling into the soft white fur and exhaling comfortably. She did not wake up. 

Quietly, he returned back to the kitchen, a worried look on both of the Moomins’ faces. Snufkin stood in front of Moominmamma and Moominpappa, his head hanging low as he stayed silent, looking like a scolded child. Moominmamma spoke up, cupping his cheek again, “Please, hun, you can tell us what’s wrong.”

Snufkin looked up at her again through eyelashes, his head still hanging low. She raised his chin gently and he allowed her to, his brown eyes filling with sudden tears as the Moomin parents looked into his guilt-ridden expression and gave him nothing but warm, loving smiles.

“You can tell us anything, dear,” Moominpappa assured him, wanting to be patient for the Mumrik, knowing whatever was on his mind was obviously distressing the usually stoic creature. The father rubbed a paw along the back that was clothed by his sleeveless top. Moominmamma nodded along to her husband’s words.

“I think I messed up today,” Snufkin wiped his eyes with his arm and sniffled. “I scared everyone today, besides My. They said they were okay, but…”

He tried to control his tears but they only continued to fall, harder this time the more he thought on the situation. “Oh, Mamma, Pappa, I’ve done so horrible today!” The two parents were surprised when the creature wrapped his arms around both of them, huddling close to them and burying his face into where the two Moomins’ fur met as they stood close together. He nuzzled his face into the fur as he silently wept and let out choked sobs, letting out all the feelings he never knew he had even been holding back. He thought he had been okay, but there was a steady anxiety that had been slowly creeping up him. “I’ve been so bad. I’ve done such awful things.”

Moominmamma gently shushed him, rubbing his back and Moominpappa did the same. Both were unsure what to say, not knowing what Snufkin was referring to. Gently, the Moomin mother pried him away and both of them knelt down on one knee so they were closer to being eye level with the Mumrik. 

“You know none of those things are true, dear, no matter what happened,” Moominmamma hushed him softly, tenderly wiping away the tears that quickly spilled from his eyes. 

Moominpappa took Snufkin’s paws in his own and the Mumrik turned to look at him, the guilty expression back and evident on his face. “What happened, Snufkin? Is anyone hurt?”

Snufkin shook his head and finally decided to start talking with a sigh. He spoke about everything that had happened at the area with the private land. He told the parents how he couldn’t control himself when it came to seeing the closed off area, and everyone had no choice but to follow him. He told them about how he got frustrated and that almost lead to them being caught.

“And—And then, I accidentally snapped at Sniff,” Snufkin choked back a sob, sniffling. “I feel so awful for it still. It made the Hemulen hear us. He saw us. We could have gotten caught, we…” His voice dissolved into whimpers and the Moomin father pulled him close, one paw wrapped around his buzzed head and the other around his back, pressing him close into a tight hug. Moominmamma hugged him as well and they all held that position until the Mumrik’s sobs grew lighter and quieter until he was only sniffling.

Moominpappa pulled him away, his white paws on the Mumrik’s shoulders as he looked into the brown eyed gaze that refused to make eye contact. Gently, Pappa wiped more tears from the Mumrik’s eyes, just as Mamma had done.

“My boy, tell me this,” Moominpappa began softly, causing the Mumrik to look at him. “Did you apologize?”

“Yes, Pappa.”

“Did they accept it?”

Snufkin only nodded in response. 

“Then, my dear, there’s nothing to worry about,” Moominpappa smiled at him. “None of the children are ones to hold grudges. You’re okay, Snufkin, my boy.”

“Moominpappa’s right, hun,” Mamma spoke softly as she began to stand up on both of her feet and the Mumrik looked at her. “If you apologized to them, that’s good! You really didn’t do anything wrong though, Snufkin.”

Moominpappa patted his head before standing up as well. “Such a caring boy,” he mused warmly. “Our Moomin is lucky to have you as a friend.”

Snufkin only blushed at that sentence, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. “Oh, it’s nothing, Pappa…” Without another word he returned to his tea. It had gotten a little cold now, but he didn’t mind too much. 

“Thank you…Mamma and Pappa,” Snufkin said quietly, his back turned to them. “For listening, I mean.”

“Of course, dear,” Moominmamma smiled at him, although the Mumrik couldn’t see it. “I know you like to keep to yourself, but if you ever need someone to listen to you, Pappa and I will always be here.”

Snufkin nodded with a small smile. “Oh, and Mamma? Can I possibly borrow stuff so I can wash my clothes?” 

“Don’t worry about it, dear. I can do it for you.”

“Are you sure? I can do it myself if you’d like.”

“I’m sure, Snufkin. You are all too sweet.”

“…Thank you, Mamma.”

With a smile Moominmamma left the kitchen and Moominpappa followed behind with Snufkin. As they entered the living room, sleeping forms began to stir as a few beings began to come out of their sleep.

The first, besides Snufkin, to wake up was Sniff. The brown creature yawned, very large ears twitching as he stretched, his gaze landing on the wide awake Mumrik. “Morning, Snufkin,” he spoke, his speech slightly slurred with drowsiness. He snapped to his senses, though, when he saw two figures right next to him and he yipped. “Oh! Good morning, Mamma and Pappa! You’re back already?”

“Why, hello to you too, Sniff,” Moominmamma laughed at the creature’s excitement, noticing the long tail wagging underneath the blanket. “We decided we wanted to come back home. Pappa wanted to stay out one more day and night, but…We missed Moominvalley too much.”

“You must tell me of your adventures! Won’t you?” Sniff’s tail continued to wag as he stood up, careful to step over the sleeping bodies as he walked over towards the Moomin parents.

“You’ll hear them soon enough, Sniff,” Pappa laughed at the creature’s obvious enthusiasm. “You can wait for the others to awaken, can’t you?”

“Oh, yes, Pappa!”

“Good boy,” Moominmamma hummed softly and she patted the top of Sniff’s head, his large ears twitching underneath the touch. “Did you have a fun time with the others?”

“Yes!” Sniff grinned. “Oh, we have a surprise for you and Pappa! I’ll wait for everyone to be awake, though.”

It wasn’t long before Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden began to stir awake. As Moomintroll began to wake up, so did Little My. The three sat up with yawns and all shared the same excitement when their gazes landed on the Moomin parents. They ran up to them, all wanting hugs to which the parents gave it to them.

“Mamma! Pappa!” Moomin cried out joyfully. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“We were only gone for a day, Moomin dear,” Moominmamma smiled as she hugged her son.

“I know, Mamma, but it felt like forever! …Oh! We have a surprise for you and Pappa! Stay here, okay?” The group headed off and pulled out the side of the couch, revealing five vases. Each friend grabbed one and presented them to the parents.

Moominmamma gasped in awe at the sight before her, looking at the pretty flowers. “Oh, my,” she murmured, grinning happily.

“You picked all of these?” Moominpappa asked and they all nodded. “I must say, it’s a very pretty sight.”

Moomintroll grabbed his father’s hands, trying to urge him to sit in a chair. “Pappa! Won’t you tell us the story of your latest trip?”

“I suppose I could! Everyone’s awake now, correct?” Moominpappa took a seat and began telling them the story, starting from where they had left Moominvalley.

Comfort and love filled the Moomin house as the friends listened to the Moomin father, curious eyes fixed on his moments as he retold his story of his adventure into the unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Art

Thank you to user [Voolffman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voolffman/profile) for the wonderful art inspired by this fic! It's very nicely done and very appreciated, thank you so much!

Source: <https://alexwolffe.tumblr.com/post/185092414001/yum-raw-fish-inspired-by-this-fic>

 


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